Collapsible screen and rack.



L. DONAVAN.

GOLLAPSIBLESGEEEN AND BACK.

APPLIUATION FILED DEU. 16, 1911.

1,098,119. A v Y Patentea Apr. 141,1911' `2 sHEETs-SHEET 2.

N 1 WM) o Loaaiia..

LILLIAN DONAVAN, OF LEXINGTO N, NORTH CAROLINA.

COLLAPSIBLE SGREEN AND BACK.

To all whom i't may concem Beit known that I, LILLIAN DoNAvAN, acitiz'en Of the United States, residing at Lexington, in' the county ofDavidson and State of North Carolina, have' invented a new and usefulGollapsible Screen and Rack, of which the following is a specificationf.

This invention relates to a combined screen and rack, one of its objectsbeing to provide a simple structure pf this type Which can be readilycollapsed as to be stored conveniently within a trunk or the like, saidscreen, when extended, being securely held against collapsing by meansIof novel holding elements provided for thatpurpose. a v Another objectis to provide means combined with the screen Whereb the same can be usedas a rack for holding articles of clothing.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription 'r'oceeds, the invention resides in the comination andarrangement of parts and' in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it bein understood'that changes in the precise emodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be 4made Within the scopeof what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawingsthe :preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings -Figure 1 is a perspective view of the screen set upfor use. Fig; 2 'is a similar view showing the same collapsed, a portionof the screen being broken away and the fabric removed therefrom. Fig. 3is a view partly in section and partly in elevation through one of theposts of the screen. Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the upperend portion of one of the frames and showing one of the fabric holdf ingrods in plan. Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of oneof the posts and of the locking means combined therewith.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference A, B and Gdesignate, respectively, the panels constituting the screen, it beingunderstood that more than three panels may be employed if desired andthat each of the panels can be the same or diflferentin appearance. Allof the panels, hoWever, are of the same generalI construction, eachpanel including upper and lower cross strips 1 and 2 and upper and lowerside Strips 3 and 4. The side Strips 3 are fixedly connected to the ISpeciflcation of Le'tters Patent.

Applicatienflle December 16, 1911. Serial Na. 686,151.

. nally extendin ratentea npr. ia, ima.

upper strip 1 and each has a longitudinall'y extendmg. dove-tail tongue'5 'on one face thereof adapted to project into a longitudidove-tailgroove 6 formed in the adjacent aceof the lower section 4. A shoulder orabutment 7 is formed on each of the 'lower sections 4 at the lower endof the slot or groove therein and constitutes a stop for the lower endof the upper section 3, there belng a corresponding shoulder or abutment8 atthe upper end of the tongue 5 and which constitutes a stop for theupper end of the lower section 4.

One of the lower sections 4 has a socket 9 therein close to the crossstrip 2 and which is directly opposite another socket 10l formed in theother .strip 4. A curved groove 11 is formed in one face of one of themembers 4 and opens into the socket 10. These two sockets 9 and 10 areadapted to receive the end portions of'a rod 12, said rod being placadin position by first inserting one end into the socket 9 and theninserting the other end into the groove 11, the said end being movable'along the groove until it registers Vwith the socket 10 whereupon, byshifting the rod longitudinally, it can be seated within the socket 10.It is to be understood of course that socket 9Vis deeper than socket 10so that when the rod is shifted longitudinally it will not be with--drawn from the socket 9. rangement of sockets is formed within the uppermembers 3 of the screen sections and these sockets receive a rod 13similar to the rod 12. The two rods 12 and 13 are adapted to extendthrough hems formedin the end portions of a fabric 14 which serves toclose the space formed between the top, bottom and side members of thescreen section, the fabric being' of such length as to be drawn tautwhen the screen section 'has been extended 4to its limit. One of theside members 3 of each screen section has a catch 15 pivotally Connectedto it and provided with a flat ear 16 extending at right anglestherefrom and adapted to swing under the lower end of the member 3. Aformed transversely within the adjacent member 4 and is so located that,when the screen section is extended to its limit` the catch 15 can beswung so as to bring ear 16 into groove 17. Further movement of the,sections 3 and 4'-relative to each other is thus prevented.

It is to be understood that the sections A,

A similar arg'roove 17 is B, and C, are to be hingedly connected,'as'

ordinarily, the hinges being illustrated at 18. With this -arrangementof hinges the sections can be folded close together so that the screenwill occupy the 'minimum space.

Furthermore, by shifting the catches out of.

the rooves 17, the upper side members 3 v can e moved'downwardlyrelative to the Connected sections, each section comprlsing' upper sidemembers, a connectmn between.v

lower side members 4 and until theyvcontact with shoulders 7, thusconsiderably shortening the sections and reducing the screen to a size-which permits it to be easily placed within a trunk or the like. Hooks19 or other suitable garment supporting elements may be attached to theupper'cross strips 1.

What is claimed is 11 A collapsible screen including hingedly the upperends thereof, lower side members slidably engaged by the upper sidemembers, a connection between the lower end porti'ons of-the lower sidemembers, each i side member having a shoulder constituting an abutment-fo1` the other side member concating with the groove and opposite thefirst means named recess, and a fabric mounted at its ends upon thecross rods;

2.* A collapsi'ble screen including hingedly Connected sections, eachsection comprising uppell side members, a connection between the upperends thereof, lower side .members slidably engaged by the uppesidemembers, a connection between the lower end portions of the lower sidemembers, each side member having a shoulder' constituting an abutmentfor the other side member contacting therewith, each of said sidemembers having a recess therein, one of said recesses being of a greaterdepth than the oppose'd recess and t'ere being a groove within the innerface of one of the side members and leading to the recess in saidmember, 'cross rods supported by the side members, eachrodbeing'insertible at one end into one of the recesses and theninsertible at its other end into the groove and the recess communicatingwith the groove and opposite the first named recess, la fabric mountedat its ends upon the cross rod's, the lower side members havingtransverse grooves therein, and a catch pivotally mounted upon one ofthe upper side members and adapted to swing into the grooves to holdsaid members against movement relative to each other.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

MRs. LILLIAN DONAVAN. Witnesses:

JNo. H. MOYER, P. V. CRITGHER.

